OAKLAND, Calif. — Frankie Montas’ velocity was close to normal Thursday when he began his start in the second game of the A’s doubleheader with the Detroit Tigers.
Montas’ first two four-seam fastballs were 96 and 97 mph, respectively. His first sinker was at 98 mph.
Montas’ velocity dropped by the end of the third inning, after which he was replaced by fellow right-hander Austin Pruitt.
Still, the brief outing by Montas, who dealt with right shoulder inflammation earlier this month, appeared to be a positive step for the A’s, who went on to beat the Tigers, 5-0, and split the doubleheader after losing the opener 7-2 before a crowd of 7,282.
In an expected short outing and with the MLB’s Aug. 2 trade deadline now less than two weeks away, Montas, in front of numerous scouts, threw 53 pitches in three scoreless innings.
Montas, in his first start since July 3, had five strikeouts, with three coming on fastballs and two on splitters, to go with two hits and one walk allowed. In the third inning, Montas threw three fastballs that were measured between 94 and 96 mph.
A’s manager Mark Kotsay was going to take a cautious approach with Montas, who had missed his last two starts with inflammation in his right shoulder.
Montas exited his July 3 start against the Seattle Mariners after just one inning, as his fastball ranged from 93 to 94 mph. Two days later, an MRI revealed the inflammation, and Montas had a cortisone shot on July 6.
Since that point, Montas and the A’s have been cautious about when he would return. On July 16, though, Montas felt good after a bullpen session, clearing the way for a return to game action.
Kotsay said he didn’t have a specific pitch count in mind for Montas, but said he would have to manage his workload in his first start back
“You never want to put some number on it, and then be stuck to it,” Kotsay said. “We’ll assess how Frankie feels throughout the game and how far he can go. I would assume he’s excited about getting on the mound, that this wasn’t something (long-term).”
The A’s scored all of their runs in the sixth inning, led by a three-run home run from Sean Murphy, his 10th homer of the season. Stephen Vogt and Tony Kemp also had RBIs in the inning.
Game 1
Left-hander Zach Logue allowed doubles to former Athletic Robbie Grossman in the third and fifth innings, respectively, in the first-game loss.
Logue, called up from Triple-A Las Vegas to be the 27th player for the double-dip, allowed five hits and struck out four over six innings as still gave the A’s a chance to open the unofficial second half of the season on a positive note.
Domingo Tapia, though, gave up three hits and two earned runs in 1 1/3 innings of relief, as the A’s lost the opener of an eight-game homestand.
The A’s have given opportunities to a few pitchers in the fifth rotation spot and Logue, acquired in March as part of the Matt Chapman trade, left a good impression as made his fifth start for the A’s this season.
“We are getting looks at different guys that are in that spot, and Zach being one of them,” Kotsay said. “I thought Zach left a good impression today. He threw the ball great.”
Logue was the winning pitcher in the A’s 3-2 victory over Houston on July 9 in Oakland. He allowed two runs in the second inning, but, using a three-pitch mix, kept the Astros off balance from there and lasted five innings, retiring each of the final 11 batters he faced.
Logue (3-5) took the loss Thursday but lowered his ERA to 4.79 from 5.16. He was looking to win back-to-back starts for the first time in his big league career.
“I think I’ve done a decent job, especially the last two games,” Logue said. “I had some rough starts in May when I was up here. But when they’ve called upon me the last two times, I felt like I’ve done a decent job.”
The A’s didn’t get a hit against Tigers starter Tarik Skubal until the fifth inning but trailed 4-2 in the seventh after a Seth Brown solo home run. Oakland had runners on first and third with one out, but Tigers reliever Alex Lange fanned both Nick Allen and Skye Bolt to end the threat.
